Our Tasting Guide includes tasting notes from our panel (always at least four tasters) on everything from NA beer and wine, to nonalcoholic spirits, bitters, mixers, and more. Each month, we’ll be updating you with the products our panel gets to try as we add to our extensive database of drinks. Check out the rest of the guide here.

A few notes: Beverages listed as “panel favorites” were unanimously and wholeheartedly adored by our whole panel—not an easy feat! Many other beverages, in addition to those listed as panel favorites, are also extremely popular among our group. Overall we strive to share our balanced and honest opinions about what we experienced, and, importantly, we believe there’s something out there for every preference.

Here’s hoping you find some new favorite sips here!
Cheers from Cara and the Guide Team

Wines

We had the delightful experience of tasting two white wines from Relax Zero. Though the chardonnay was slightly different from a classic chardonnay in flavor, it still ended up as a panel favorite. The sauvignon blanc was true to its namesake. We deemed these two delicious and affordable nonalcoholic wine options.

Wine Alternatives

One of the most exciting categories in the NA space is wine alternatives—also sometimes called wine proxies. These wine-adjacent products are not intended to be exact replacements for wine, per se, but to offer the same kind of ritualistic, complex, sometimes celebratory experience you might find with wine. Many are intended to pair well with food, as well.

These two wine-adjacent products from Three Spirit both ended up being panel favorites with lots of complexity and depth and unexpected, layered flavors.

Beers

Though this Belgian Wit from Athletic is technically a seasonal beer, it seemed pretty seasonless to us. We loved how easy it was to drink, how true it tasted to the Witbier style. The can art is pretty great, too.

Aperitifs and Liqueurs

We enjoyed tasting this duo of unique aperitifs from (parentheses). Both have a strong vinegar component (harkening to their founders’ background in vinegar making), which even our shrub fans found pronounced, but this was balanced by a depth of interesting flavors. We recommend experimenting with these as ingredients in your mixology creations.

Mixers

We loved the strong, smoky scent and flavor of this maple syrup-based Old Fashioned mixer. Though it was lovely in a drink, we all had ideas of other ways we would use it (I personally think I’d drink a tiny bit in a cordial glass as I would a port).

Ready To Drink

True to its brand, Pentire’s version of a margarita is herby and savory in addition to its citrus notes. Not a classic margarita, but it is complex and interesting. We recommend serving over ice, and we appreciate that it is available in both bottles and cans to keep things easy

Optimist Botanicals Cali Spritz

If spritzes are often too sweet for you, you might enjoy this version from Optimist. This is the ready-to-drink spritz version of the brand’s Cali Amaro. The result is a spritz that is totally unique.

De Soi Très Rosé

If you like things sweet but complex, you’ll want to try this multi-faceted pink pour from De Soi.

See you soon with more updates!